The King's Gambit

I quite enjoyed this mystery, set in Ancient Rome near the end of the Roman Republic. (Julius Ceasar does appear in the story, but he is a young man and has some time to go before seizing power.) The hero is Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger, currently a young minor official from a high-ranking plebian family. When a series of murders occurs in his jurisdiction, he becomes determined to bring the perpetrators to justice, even though he realizes early on that there is a conspiracy with some very high-ranking people involved, and given the current fairly corrupt state of Roman politics, he is unlikely to bring them to book, or even survive the attempt. But he has a somewhat idealistic reverence for true justice, and the Rome of show more ideals, if not reality, so he pursues the case amongst the very high and very low.

I like political thrillers, and there is a lot of political intrigue going on here. I also studied Latin for five years way back when, and still retain an interest in Ancient Rome. However, if these items are not particularly appealing to the reader, they may find that that Mr. Roberts strayed too far into the informational weeds. Personally, I loved it, but it's definitely not going to suit all tastes. show less

This is quite an enjoyable romp through Rome of the Late Republic in the company of our hero, Decius Caecilius Metellus. He’s a junior magistrate, put in the position of investigating officer (as it were) when a couple of murders, an arson attack and a break-in trace a line to conspiracy and treason.

Metellus is a less engaging character than Steven Saylor’s Gordianus, but it’s early days yet; furthermore, his status as a young career politian in the early stages of his own progression along the cursus honorum provides access to the big players beyond Cicero (Crassus, Pompey, Caesar) whom Gordianus must observe from sligtly further afar.

Research is not always worn as lightly as it might be, but on the plus side, an unusual and show more welcome prominence for Milo, in the Dr Watson role.

For what it's worth, the murderer is easily guessed, but the conspiracy behind it is, I think, at least possibly (if not probably) true! show less

Set in the 1st century ancient Rome, this murder mystery will have you hooked and wanting more. In the time of Crassus and Pompey, murder and intrigue are not that uncommon. However, their is the dual murders of an ex-slave and a foreign merchant that catch the eye of Decius Caecilius Metellus. He isn’t willing to write these deaths off so quickly.

When I was younger, I read several of these SPQR books in paperback. I just couldn’t get enough of them. I was very delighted to find them in audio and narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Simon Vance. This book is a great introduction to the series and our main hero and detective Decius. I really enjoy how the murder trail cuts through several levels of society. This book doesn’t show more focus on the rich and famous, but rather, makes them the backdrop to the rest of Roman society.

There is a bit of sex in this book. Or rather, there is plenty of sensuality that leads up to the sex, which is then mostly done behind a curtain. The lead up was very well done. There were drugs and alcohol and tumblers involved, so it was all a little fuzzy to Decius the next morning. Coinciding with that, I wish there were a few more female characters in the story. But that is my only quibble with this book.

The author does a great job of putting the reader in ancient Rome. The food and the clothes and the lack of modern plumbing are all there for the reader experience. Plus the author does a great job of showing societal norms of the time, which is important in understanding the mindset of the main characters. He doesn’t try to take modern morals and shove them into an ancient Roman character.

The Narration: Simon Vance was awesome as always. He had distinct voices for both males and females. He didn’t hesitate at all with the Latin phrases tossed in here and there. show less

What is the link between the garotting of a thug for hire, the death at home of an importer with links to pirates, and a fire at the importer's warehouse, in 1st Century BC Rome? Decius Caecilius Metellus finds the case has high-reaching political ramifications.

I really liked Decius Caecilius Metellus's voice in this book. A great start to a new-to-me series.

The first, and perhaps the best, of the SPQR series of mysteries set in ancient Rome. The hero, Decius Caecilius Mettelus, is almost as well born as an ancient Roman could be. He lacks, however, the martial ambition so typical of his caste, and is beginning a standard Roman career of moving from office to office mostly because that is what the Metelli do. But he does have brains, and when he is drawn into an investigation with political implications, he digs in and investigates.

What's most appealing about this series is the vivid recreation of ancient Rome and Roman life. This has been done by other authors as well, of course, but there is room for many different points of view. Also, Metellus is an interesting character, not as show more engaging as Lindsey Davis' Falco, or as principled as Saylor's Gordianus, but refreshingly objective about himself and his world. show less

A mild amusement but certainly not as good as the Roma Sub Rosa series. Some interesting parts...and the second half is certainly more interesting than the first.

Another good Roman historical fiction series--this time from the perspective of a patrician starting his career as a city commissioner and getting caught up in an investigation involving Pompey & Crassus in 70 B.C. I like Decius' droll recounting of a time in his youth (he is writing from years later when Augustus is in power), and the mystery is good. 4 stars because there was too much "as you know, Bob" dialogue and description about Roman cultural practices (that I, of course, mostly know about, although, I grant, it could be useful for a newcomer to the material). I will check out the later volumes in the series and see if it's one to keep going on.